What's saving my life right now

Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy to share (to put it hyperbolically) what's saving my life right now.

Today is Groundhog Day, aka the midpoint of winter.  Thus, amid the doldrums and the cold, we share what is giving us life--the big or the small.

I could list my gas fireplace I turn on every afternoon, or the space heater in the school room.  I could mention moving the cars out of the garage so the kids can play out there, or the sunny spot on the kitchen floor where I eat lunch.

I could honor the Wine Awesomeness subscription I got Jason for Christmas, and how it has thoroughly lived up to its name and seriously raised the bar for our date nights.

The habit of making lunchboxes for us all is possibly saving my life, as well as hot tea after lunch, and fuzzy wuzzy blankets.

But the life-giving routine I will highlight today is the most surprising one:  daily sunrise runs.

How does one get out of a warm bed (with fuzzy wuzzy blankets) to face the frigid mostly-darkness to do something physically challenging, you ask?


Good question.

There are lots of benefits to running every morning before work.


Catching the elusively brief, brilliant sunrise.


Flooding your system with stress-relieving endorphins.


Low resting heart rate.


But these won't really get you out there when the winter wind is howling, will they?

Here are seven strategies, which, taken together, support a habit that is, at least in some sense, saving my life right now.


1.  Get good shoes.


My running shoes cost $120.  That's a chunk of change.


But after trying three different pairs that made my feet hurt, I finally returned to a new set of the exact shoes I had had before.  It is so worth $120 once a year or so to be able to run pain-free.  This is not a time to go low-budget.

2.  Download a good podcast app.


Surprise!  The one that comes on the iPhone is NOT the best one.  In fact, it kinda sucks.  I used it for a while and it was always claiming I hadn't downloaded my shows, or cutting off after one episode and refusing to start another, or deleting shows I wasn't done with yet.


Thankfully Jason convinced me there is a better way.  I've been using "Podcast App" (brilliant name) for a while and am way happier with it.


But wait--don't people listen to rockin' music when they work out?


Yes, but listening to podcasts is better.


There are only so many tolerable upbeat songs in this world, and though listening to the "Rocky" theme on repeat is awesome, you'll get bored/annoyed very quickly trying to keep your running playlist fresh.


Yes, you totally run 28% faster when you're imagining you're Rocky, but I prefer to make one epic run soundtrack and save it for the once-in-a-blue-moon races I run.


For every day, load up your podcast app.


Whatever you're into, there's a podcast or six for that.  Or audio books are an option too, although I haven't tried that yet.


Podcasts allow me to indulge my inner nerd in a variety of ways, and I can easily toggle between the different genres, depending on what I feel like that day.


Soul encouragement from John Piper or J. Warner Wallace?  Yes, please.


Fitness inspiration?  Totally.


NPR?  Slate?  Peggy Post Institute?  Got 'em all.


Plus a whole podcast dedicated to the text of Harry Potter.

3.  Get a decent set of headphones.  


I've found headphones with easily accessible volume buttons (not a slide) a major advantage.


The great thing about a good podcast player is that it picks up wherever you left off and starts the next one in your queue automatically, so no more searching for podcasts that are the exact length of time I want to work out.


But that means that in the middle of a run, you might change to a show that is suddenly WAY LOUDER than you like, and it's really hard to adjust the volume if your only option is your phone strapped to your bicep.


Also you want your headphones to fit in or over your ears comfortably, not hurting and not falling out/off.

4.  Dress WARMLY.


Yes, if you run for 30 minutes in enough layers to keep a rain forest monkey alive in the Arctic, you'll be terribly sweaty.


But dress like the rain forest monkey in Alaska anyway.


The convenient thing about running in laps is that you can drop clothing along the way and pick it up at the end, but even on an out-and-back run, you can figure something out.  Even if you're only wearing that scarf/hat/pair of mittens/parka for the first three minutes, it's worth it to not associate the beginning of your exercise time with discomfort.

5.  Get out before your brain wakes up enough to realize what's happening.


Don't lay in bed and consider it.  Start moving when your eyes are still closed, before your brain has a chance to protest.

6.  Start the podcast before you step outside.


Now you're not thinking primarily about the temperature, you're thinking about the fascinating things Emily Post/John Piper/Harry Potter has to say!

7.  Go very easy.


You're not training for the Olympics.  You're aiming to settle into a habit.  So go easy, easier than you think is necessary.  You're warm and bundled up anyway right?  No need to sprint like your life is on the line.


Start by walking, not running.  If whatever you're doing exhausts you, you're doing too much, despite how ridiculous you feel admitting it, regardless of how many little old ladies pass you on the track [speaking of and to myself here].


You'll still get stress-busting endorphins, fresh air, and a lower resting heart rate.


And you won't miss the brilliant winter sunrises.


Which just might, figuratively, save your life.